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Cardinal Roster
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Cardinal Schedule
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MIAC Standings
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MIAC Statistics
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| 2006 Final Records: 3-8 MIAC, 10-19 Overall |
| Recent Results: Gustavus 3, Saint Mary's 1 / Details |
| Cardinal News and Notes: SMU's Game 1 win vs. .Gustavus last Wednesday snapped a nine-game losing streak, but wasn't enough, as the Cardinals closed out their season with their fourth straight match loss. … Molli Dant (Forest City, Iowa) collected 19 kills vs. the Gusties and finshed as SMU's kill leader with 381 (3.85 kills/game). … Dant also pushed her single-season attack attempts record to 1246 with 67 vs. GAC. … Jessica Voight (Caledonia, Minn.), one of four seniors playing in their final collegiate match, posted career-highs of 18 kills and 18 digs vs. GAC. … Theresa Perrini (Fairway, Kan.) also set a single-season record, as the SMU sophomore boasted 563 digs this season. … Perrini closed out the year as one of seven SMU players with at least 100 digs. … Breanna Benham (Deer River, Minn.) dished out 52 assists vs. GAC — the fifth time the SMU freshman collected 50 or more assists — and finished the season with 883 assists. … The Cardinals finished 3-11 in 3-game matches, 4-6 in four-gamers and 3-2 in matches that went the maximum five games. |
season comes to a close with 3-1 loss to Gustavus
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Jessica
Voight Career-high 18 kills, 18 digs vs. GAC |
The Cardinals, aka The Hare, got out of the gates like they were shot out of a cannon, racing to a 30-26 win in the opening game of their final match of the season.
The Gusties, aka The Tortoise, however, used the slow, methodical approach en route to wins in Game 2 (30-21), Game 3 (30-26) and Game 4 (30-24), as Gustavus handed SMU a 3-1 setback at the SMU Gym.
"That match epitomized our season," said SMU coach Mike Lester, whose team closed out its season with a 3-8 MIAC mark and a 10-19 overall record. "We've played teams close all season — until we get to about 25-25. Then, for some reason or another, we just seem to fall apart and can't find a way to close the deal.
"(Against Gustavus), it was the same thing," continued Lester, noting that Game 3 was tied 23-23, before the Gusties went on a 7-3 run to close out the game and take a 2-1 advantage. "Once we dropped that third game, we just seemed to run out of gas."
Wednesday's game not only marked the end of the season for the Cardinals, but it also marked the end of a collegiate career for four SMU players.
And the quartet made sure to go out with a bang.
Molli Dant (Forest City, Iowa) — the team's single-season record holder in attack attempts (1246) — collected a team-best 19 kills and added 21 digs in her final collegiate match, while Jessica Voight (Caledonia, Minn.) posted a career-high 18 kills and recorded 18 digs. Not to be outdone, Kaylene Mrozinski (North St. Paul, Minn.) chipped in 10 digs and Ashley Karl (Auburndale, Wis.) collected 21 digs.
"I can't say enough about our four seniors," said Lester. "They have had to work so hard for everything they have accomplished, and that type of work ethic doesn't go unnoticed — it rubs off on the rest of the team.
"They've left it all on the court for four years — and it was no different (against Gustavus)."
Despite the loss, SMU's fourth straight and sixth in its last eight matches, Lester still feels like the 2006 season was a success.
"When you look at this team — where we started in late August and where we finished — we have come a long way," concluded Lester. "It's tough to end the season the way we did, but when you look past the wins and the losses, I'm very happy with the strides we've made."